Main navigation

Vitreoous – Chants of Deprecation (2017)REVIEW

Vitreoous might be every shade of green in finding distinct rhythms on their debut EP of occult death/black metal ambitions but their aggressive intentions don’t go unnoticed. The Spanish black metal duo formed in 2017 around a shared interest in ‘wlatsome’ dissonance and violent blackened extreme metal rhythms. Themes of loathing and repulsion are expressed primarily with an attack of high speed tremolo picking and hurried drumming that initially has a slight programmed feeling to it particularly in the claustrophobic confines of the first two songs. The first point of interest shines through at the end of “Wlatsome” where the track fades into a sound reminiscent of the entire band being drowned under a giant plate of vibrating glass. It feels a bit like early Portal at that point, though the next track echoes Norwegian orthodoxy more than anything else

I wouldn’t peg this as exactly the type of occultism found on release like DeathSpell Omega‘s ‘Inquisitors of Satan’ but I’m reminded of that release’s bending waves of insistent tremolo on “Unsely” until some of the slower atmospheric black metal guitar work kicks in at the end. Even if Vitreoous has a way to go with their song structures they’ve found a set of interesting rhythms within aggressive black/death hammering that generate a fair amount of interest. The immensity of the constantly blasting drums appears intended to allow for almost psychedelic washes of blackened death noise to ride and slash above them. If the band were to focus on bigger riffs and even more despondent atmospheric transitions they’d strike underground metal gold quickly.

As it is ‘Chants of Deprecation’ serves as a short series of blatant curses blasted upon the listener through violent black metal attacks. Well worth a spin, though primarily to bear witness to an ambitious concept yet fully formed. I suggest skipping the first track and diving into “Wlatsome” and “Innoculate Sabbath” first, then spiral back around to the start if you’re into it.